“The Clearing in the Jacoby” is a Finalist for The 2019 Garry Marshall Theatre New Works Festival!

In this rollicking comedy, set in an ancient Australian forest famous for being an international destination for committing suicide, five very different people find themselves in need of answers, each other, and a government employee named Sharon.

Located in Burbank, Garry Marshall Theatre is interested in new work that is uniquely theatrical, authentically voiced, and has a strong point of view. The New Works Festival presents five new plays in staged readings to help the development process of the playwright, and will take place June 2-4, 2019.

This year, they received over 200 submissions, so being chosen in the top 8 plays is an honor all by itself. Thank you to the selection team at Garry Marshall Theatre for this distinction!

So thrilled and proud that my new play “The Clearing in the Jacoby” is a Finalist for The 2019-2020 Reva Shiner Comedy Award!

In this play, set in an ancient Australian forest famous for being an international destination for committing suicide, five very different people find themselves in need of answers, each other, and a government employee named Sharon.

The Bloomington Playwrights Project (BPP) is the only professional theatre in the entire state of Indiana dedicated solely to new plays. They select ten finalists and produce the winner’s play. I’m so lucky to have been a Finalist for this award three different times now.

Thanks to everyone at The Bloomington Playwrights Project for choosing my play as one of the ten funniest of 2019!

Thrilled that my play “Miss Keller Has No Second Book” will be part of the Writers Theatre of New Jersey “Soundings Reading Series” on January 5, 2019, directed by James Glossman.

The reading will feature Tony-winning actress Maryann Plunkett, Maureen Silliman, Mackenzie Astin, Clark Carmichael, and Hannah Mae Sturges. Ms. Silliman and Ms. Sturges are reprising the roles they created in the World Premiere production at Gulfshore Playhouse earlier this year.

The Soundings Reading Series is designed to test a fairly well-developed play in front of an audience. Authors have five hours of rehearsal with professional actors and a director, and a public reading of the play with guided feedback from the audience.  All readings are followed by a discussion with the author, director, and Artistic Director John Pietrowski.

These readings permit Writers Theatre to connect with its community of patrons and artists to:

• gain audience insight into the play

• continue the exposure of the audience to the creative process

• give our audience experiences with diverse narrative forms.

For tickets, click here. Writers Theatre of NJ is at 28 Walnut St, Madison, NJ 07940, and showtime is 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019. See you there!

My play "The Super Variety Match Bonus Round!" was part of Rogue Machine Theatre's 2016-2017 season which received the Ovation award for "Best Season." I was excited to be interviewed about it for Dramatists Guild's "Season in Review" magazine edition, which is available now.  Big thanks to Larry Dean Harris for reaching out to me for the article, as well as my director Cameron Watson, and Rogue Machine's Artistic Director John Perrin Flynn for believing in my play.

Nylon Fusion Theatre Company has selected my short play "Chain Link" for their "Best Of 'This Round's On Us' Festival" opening June 27 - July 15 in New York City. I'm honored and excited! It will be directed by the amazing Lori Kee.

The theatre has hosted their short play collection "This Round's On Us" for ten years, and have now selected twelve plays to run in two groups, on alternating dates. Audiences will vote on which short play they'd like to see as a feature-length play, and then Nylon Fusion will produce it (once it's written!) in an upcoming season.

SO PLEASE COME SEE (AND VOTE FOR) "CHAIN LINK!"

My play is in Group A, which runs on the following dates: 
WEEK ONE:
Wednesday June 27th at 8PM
Friday June 29th at 8PM
Saturday June 30th 3PM* (note performance time)
Sunday July 1st 5PM* (note time) 

WEEK TWO:
Thursday July 5th at 8PM
Saturday July 7 8PM
Sunday July 8th 2PM* (note time)

WEEK THREE:
Friday July 13th at 8PM
Saturday July 14th 3PM* (note time)
Sunday July 15th 5PM* (note time)

Tickets are available HERE ($20 in advance, $25 at door) and all shows are at Medicine Show Theater, 549 West 52nd Street (10th/11th).

Hope to see you there! Here are some pix from the theater (all photos by Al Foote III):

UPDATE: This went GREAT! Big thanks to all who showed up and supported new work! It's greatly appreciated. And a big thanks to my wonderfully patient director Gabby Griego and my talented cast.

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So excited about the upcoming FREE reading of the latest draft of my new play "The Escape Thingy" at Moving Arts theater company in Los Angeles on Saturday May 19 at 11:00 a.m. Did I mention that it's FREE? Just click here to let us know you're coming but no need to pay anything because it's definitely FREE!

Directed by Gabrieal Griego, the reading will be held at Harmony Toluca Lake, 4301 Cahuenga Blvd. Starts promptly at 11 a.m. Here's the synopsis: Two very different couples meet in an "Escape Room" game night, each needing very different types of escape. The clock is literally ticking as they attempt to solve the puzzles, decide what reality to believe, and weigh the risks of unlocking the door to the dangerous world outside.

The wonderful cast includes Mark L. Taylor, Penny Peyser, Victoria Ortiz, Lizzie Zerebko, and Taylor Jackson Ross. Please come and judge my work right to my face, for FREE!

In its very first year, The Garry Marshall Theatre New Works Festival selected my new play "The Escape Thingy" as one of the Semifinalists!

In this 5-person comedy, two very different couples meet in an "Escape Room" game night, each needing very different types of escape. The clock is literally ticking as they attempt to solve the puzzles, distinguish facts from alternative facts, and weigh the risks of unlocking the door to the dangerous world outside.

This new play, written as part of the Playwrights Union New Play Challenge 2017, was a Finalist for the 2018-2019 Reva Shiner Comedy Award, and is also a Semifinalist for the 2018 Ashland New Play Festival and the 2018 Bay Area Playwrights Festival.